SOCIAL RESEARCH

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SOCIAL RESEARCH
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SOMETIMES A LITTLE RESEARCH INTO A SITUATION IS
GOOD ADVICE!
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TO BEGIN WITH, THERE ARE JUST TWO SIMPLE
REQUIREMENTS

• LOOK AT THE WORLD USING THE SOCIOLOGICAL
  PERSPECTIVE
• A VARIETY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIORS CALLING FOR
  INVESTIGATION
• BE CURIOUS AND ASK QUESTIONS
• TAKE OFF THE SOCIAL BLINDERS THAT STOP MAKING
  ONE CURIOUS

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COMMON SENSE VS. SCIENCE

• POOR PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY THAN RICH PEOPLE TO
  BREAK THE LAW
• YES, BUT WE TEND TO PROSECUTE THE POOR MORE, AND
  WE CREATE LAWS THAT SEEM TO ENSURE WE WILL
  PROSECUTE THE POOR MORE OFTEN
• THE UNITED STATES IS A MIDDLE-CLASS SOCIETY IN
  WHICH MOST PEOPLE ARE MORE OR LESS EQUAL
• THE RICHEST 5 PERCENT OF PEOPLE CONTROL HALF OF
  THE COUNTRYS WEALTH
• MOST POOR PEOPLE IGNORE OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK
• IT IS TRUE FOR SOME, BUT NOT ALL POOR PEOPLE, AND
  KEEP IN MIND THAT HALF OF THOSE CLASSIFIED AS
  POOR ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE WORKING (E.G.,
  CHILDREN, THE ELDERLY, ETC.)
• WORLDWIDE, MOST PEOPLE MARRY BECAUSE THEY ARE IN
  LOVE
• IN MOST SOCIETIES, ROMANTIC LOVE HAS LITTLE TO DO
  WITH GETTING MARRIED TO SOMEONE

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A LOGICAL SYSTEM THAT DERIVES KNOWLEDGE FROM
DIRECT, SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION

• CONCEPTS
• ABSTRACT IDEAS THAT REPRESENT SOME ASPECT OF THE
  WORLD, ALBEIT IN A SOMEWHAT SIMPLIFIED FORM
• VARIABLES
• CONCEPTS WHOSE VALUES CHANGE FROM CASE TO CASE
• INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES
• MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES
• THE MEANS BY WHICH THE VALUE OF A VARIABLE IS
  DETERMINED
• OPERATIONALIZATION- THE PROCESS OF SPECIFYING
  WHAT IS TO BE MEASURED IN EACH CASE

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• RELIABILITY - THE QUALITY OF CONSISTENT
  MEASUREMENT
• DOES AN INSTRUMENT PROVIDE FOR A CONSISTENT
  MEASURE OF THE SUBJECT MATTER?
• VALIDITY - THE QUALITY OF MEASURING PRECISELY
  WHAT ONE INTENDS TO MEASURE
• DOES AN INSTRUMENT ACTUALLY MEASURE WHAT IT SETS
  OUT TO MEASURE?
• WHAT ASSUMPTIONS MUST BE MADE ABOUT ISSUES OF
  RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY WHEN PERFORMING RESEARCH?

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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN VARIABLES

• CAUSE AND EFFECT
• A RELATIONSHIP IN WHICH CHANGE IN ONE VARIABLE
  CAUSES CHANGE IN ANOTHER
• EXAMPLE OVERCROWDING CAUSES DELINQUENCY
• TYPES OF VARIABLES
• INDEPENDENT THE VARIABLE THAT CAUSES THE CHANGE
  (OVERCROWDING)
• DEPENDENT THE VARIABLE THAT CHANGES
  (DELINQUENCY)
• CORRELATION
• WHEN TWO OR MORE VARIABLES CHANGE TOGETHER THEY
  DEMONSTRATE CORRELATION

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CORRELATION CAUTION
IF TWO VARIABLES VARY TOGETHER, THEY ARE SAID TO
BE CORRELATED. IN THIS EXAMPLE, DENSITY OF
LIVING CONDITIONS AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
INCREASE AND DECREASE TOGETHER.
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CHECKING THE EFFECT OF A THIRD VARIABLE
WHEN A THIRD VARIABLE IS CONSIDERED, IN THIS CASE
THAT OF INCOME LEVEL, IS IT DISCOVERED THAT LOW
INCOME MAY BE RELATED TO BOTH DENSITY OF LIVING
CONDITIONS AND DELINQUENCY RATES. IN OTHER
WORDS, AS INCOME LEVEL DECREASES, BOTH DENSITY OF
LIVING CONDITIONS AND DELINQUENCY RATES
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ORIGINAL CORRELATION DISAPPEARS
THUS, WHEN INCOME LEVEL IS CONTROLLED (EXAMINE
ONLY CASES WITH THE SAME INCOME LEVEL) DO THOSE
WITH HIGHER DENSITY LIVING CONDITIONS STILL HAVE
A HIGHER DELINQUENCY RATE? THE ANSWER IS NO.
THERE IS NO LONGER A CORRELATION BETWEEN THESE
TWO VARIABLES!
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SOWHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
SPURIOUS
CAUSE
CAUSE
THE FINDINGS LEAD ONE TO CONCLUDE THAT INCOME
LEVEL IS A CAUSE OF BOTH DENSITY OF LIVING
CONDITIONS AND THE DELINQUENCY RATE. THERE MAY
BE A CORRELATION BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL VARIABLES,
BUT NOW DOUBT CAN BE CAST UPON THE THOUGHT THAT
ONE CAUSES THE OTHER.
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CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSE AND EFFECT!

• CORRELATION
• TWO OR MORE VARIABLES CHANGE TOGETHER
• CONDITIONS FOR CAUSE AND EFFECT TO BE CONSIDERED
• EXISTENCE OF A CORRELATION
• THE INDEPENDENT (CAUSAL) VARIABLE PRECEDES THE
  DEPENDENT VARIABLE IN TIME
• NO EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT A THIRD VARIABLE IS
  RESPONSIBLE FOR A SPURIOUS CORRELATION BETWEEN
  THE TWO ORIGINAL VARIABLES

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OBJECTIVITY

• IDEAL VERSUS REALITY
• OBJECTIVITY IS ALWAYS MORE OF AN IDEAL THAN A
  REALITY FOR SCIENTISTS
• TOTAL IMPARTIALITY IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE
  RESEARCHER TO ACHIEVE
• THINK IN TERMS OF SELECTING THE TOPIC OF
  INTEREST AND QUESTION FORMATION
• MAX WEBERS THOUGHTS
• SOCIAL RESEARCH IS VALUE-RELEVANT
• CONSIDER THE TOPICS/ISSUES UNDER INVESTIGATION
• RESEARCHERS SIMPLY NEED TO TRY THEIR BEST TO
  ACHIEVE A VALUE-FREE POSITION IN PURSUIT OF THEIR
  CONCLUSIONS.
• REPLICATION BY OTHERS IS ONE KEY!

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SOCIAL RESEARCH HAS LIMITATIONS

• HUMANS ARE TOO COMPLEX TO PRECISELY PREDICT
  ACTIONS
• HAWTHORNE EFFECT ON SUBJECTS
• THE AMOUNT OF DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL CHANGE FOUND
  IN SOCIETY RESULTS IN CONTINUAL CHANGE
• TRUE OBJECTIVITY IS DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE
  TO ACHIEVE

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• CREATIVE THINKING IS IMPORTANT FOR AT LEAST THREE
  REASONS
• MUCH INSIGHT COMES FROM CREATIVE THINKING
  PROCESSES
• SCIENCE CANNOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE RANGE OF
  HUMAN MOTIVATIONS AND FEELINGS
• IN THE END, SCIENTIFIC DATA ALWAYS CALLS FOR A
  SUBJECTIVE INTERPRETATION

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GENDER AND RESEARCH

• ANDROCENTRICITY
• MALE-CENTERED RESEARCH, OR APPROACHING THE TOPIC
  FROM A MALE-ONLY PERSPECTIVE
• OVERGENERALIZING
• USING DATA COLLECTED FROM ONE SEX AND APPLYING
  THE FINDINGS TO BOTH SEXES
• GENDER INSENSITIVITY
• THE FAILURE TO CONSIDER THE IMPACT OF GENDER AT
  ALL IN THE SUBJECT MATTER IN QUESTION
• DOUBLE STANDARDS
• THE SAME STANDARDS SHOULD BE APPLIED TO BOTH
  SEXES IN ORDER TO NOT DISTORT FINDINGS
• INTERFERENCE
• THIS OCCURS WHEN A SUBJECT UNDER STUDY REACTS TO
  THE SEX OF THE RESEARCHER RATHER THAN THE SUBJECT
  MATTER UNDER STUDY

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• FINDINGS MUST BE DISCLOSED IN FULL WITHOUT
  OMITTING SIGNIFICANT DATA
• RESEARCHERS MUST BE WILLING TO SHARE THEIR DATA
  WITH OTHERS
• PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS AND PRIVACY OF THE
  SUBJECTS TAKING PART
• SUBJECTS AND CONFIDENTIALITY
• SUBJECTS MUST BE MADE AWARE OF THE TRUE PURPOSE
  OF RESEARCH
• MAINTAIN AWARENESS OF ANY DANGERS

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STRATEGIES FOR SYSTEMATICALLY CARRYING OUT
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

• EXPERIMENTS
• HIGHLY CONTROLLED CONDITIONS
• SURVEYS
• QUESTIONNAIRES AND INTERVIEWS
• PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS
• JOINING IN ACTIVITIES OF GROUPS
• EXISTING SOURCES
• SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF DATA

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WAYS OF REASONING
HEY! THIS IS HOW THEORY AND RESEARCH METHODS
ARE LINKED!

• INDUCTIVE LOGIC
• REASONING THAT TRANSFORMS SPECIFIC OBSERVATIONS
  INTO GENERAL THEORY
• I HAVE SOME DATA HEREI WONDER WHAT SENSE I CAN
  MAKE OF IT
• DEDUCTIVE LOGIC
• REASONING THAT TRANSFORMS GENERAL THEORY INTO
  SPECIFIC HYPOTHESES SUITABEL FOR TESTING
• I HAVE THIS HUNCH ABOUT THIS TOPICLETS COLLECT
  SOME DATA AND PUT THE HUNCH TO A TEST

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THE RESEARCH PROCESS
SO MANY THINGS TO GET RIGHT!

• SELECT AND DEFINE TOPIC
• LITERATURE REVIEW IS CONDUCTED
• ASSESS REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDY
• DEVELOP KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK
• CONSIDER ETHICAL ISSUES
• DEVISE A RESEARCH STRATEGY
• COLLECT THE DATA
• INTERPRET THE FINDINGS
• STATE CONCLUSIONS
• PUBLISH THE FINDINGS

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THE TRUTHNOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!

• WAYS PEOPLE USE STATISTICS
• PEOPLE SELECT THEIR DATA
• DATA MAY NOT BE THE WHOLE TRUTH
• PEOPLE INTERPRET THEIR DATA
• AS IF NUMBERS CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING
• PEOPLE SUE GRAPHS TO SPIN THE TRUTH
• MANIPULATING TIMEFRAMES ON GRAPHS

STATS WIZARD
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